Wednesday, November 16, 2016

☯ Silence Is Dangerous

Where do we go from here?

This election hit me hard. I had planned on writing a piece about what strategy Progressives should take when dealing with a center-right Clinton Administration. Needless to say, that piece went straight out the window around 9:30ish Tuesday night. 11/8/2016. It's a night I don't think I'll ever forget. I sat and watched in horror as the most dangerous demagogue to ever run for President of the United States received the necessary number of electoral college votes to claim the office. I honestly couldn't believe it was happening. How could we elect this spray tan monster to the highest office in the country, and arguably the most powerful position in the world? I'm still not quite sure.

To be honest, this whole election cycle was about so much more than a Trump victory and a Clinton loss. This election was about lies, manipulation, hate, fear, anger, ignorance, and hubris. The thing that really stood out to me, maybe above all else, was the stunning way in which the Democratic Party simply ignored the voices of millions of people. They did this willfully and with full knowledge of what they were doing. They thought they could coast to victory on rhetoric about Donald Trump, while intentionally not discussing or highlighting policy. Some of the reason they may have done that is because half of Clinton's policies would have been very beneficial to party and financial elites. I'm positive she would have pushed for TPP, and more intervention in relation to foreign policy.

Countless pieces have been written about the policies of the Clinton campaign and the horrifying and non-existent policies of the Trump campaign (now administration, I suppose) so I don't want to relitigate the election. I want to focus on where we go from here. After a couple of days of wallowing in the mire of the reality of th situation, I began to see small slivers of hope in the future. This is not the way I hoped things would have played out, but I do believe there can be a small island of good in this ocean of darkness.First: let's dismantle the establishment of the Democratic Party and rebuild it. The Clintons, and even Obama (to an extent) have spent 20 years talking the party to the right. That time has now passed. Their way was an abject failure. There is no way around that truth for the remains of the party now, so this is our time to change it.

Second: We need to organize and make our voices heard. There is one truth that rings louder now than ever before: SILENCE IS DANGEROUS. We cannot be silent. Every group that is non- white, male, or christian is going to be under vicious attack and we cannot stand by and allow it to happen. We need to continue to protest, we need to continue to speak out, but most of all we need to get out and fucking VOTE. Vote for progressives in local, state, and national election. If you can, go out and run for something. Work to change local governance, and work to build a real progressive movement to take back the Congress in 2018, and the White house in 2020.

Third: This is the most important one, get money out of politics. Real change will be nearly impossible as long as there is an unlimited flow of money into politics. Trump has said he wants to "drain the cesspool" of corruption in Washington, but anyone with half a brain knows he won't do a damn thing about it, but we can do something about it. We can change the status quo. For more in depth information and an action plan visit www.wolf-pac.com .

Of course, I am sure many people have a million other valid ideas as well, these are just a launching point. I find them to be a good motivator to keep me from losing sight of the goal of a more fair and just society.

Now that all of that is out of the way I want to leave you with these thoughts. This is going to be a tough time for those of us who do not fall into the traditional power group of white christian men. It is also going to be hell for anyone with a conscience, but life does indeed go on. This whole election and its aftermath have reminded me how much I love this country and how much I hurt when it doesn't live up to the ideals I have always attributed to it.

I want everyone to remember how powerful love is. No matter how much hate is thrown our way, we must continue to love one another. To those in the African American community, I love you and will stand proudly with you as we go through these next few years. To those in the LGBTQ community, I love you and will stand and fight with you to make sure you keep your rights and are respected as you deserve. To the Hispanic and Latino community, of which I am a member, we must stand together with the other communities and I believe they will stand with us, because they love us too. Together we can persevere, we can be the change that we so desire. Together we can make the world a little less dim.

As a parting gift, I'll leave you with my favorite scene from Synecdoche, New York. I'm not sure why, but it always makes me feel better.

Centrist Democratic Voters in the primaries - for ignoring the issues, strategy, and what it means to be liberal

conservative 3rd party voters - for voting while not believing in it

liberal 3rd party voters (in swing states)- for feeling good about doing nothing to stop this tragedy on the one day they could’ve done something

ourselves - for not doing enough

#SharedBlame
* If you’re in a non-swing-state, that’s
understandable. But, a Green Party
vote, in that case, would make more
of a statement, than doing nothing.
* If you don't believe in voting, you're
conservative.

Monday, November 7, 2016

● Progressives: Right in the Primaries, Wrong on the 8th

Yes democratic progressives, you were right during the primaries. You were right to vote for Bernie Sanders, both on the issues and strategically. We know now and we knew at the time, that the polls showed that Bernie would do better than Hillary in the general election against Trump. If independents could’ve voted, Bernie would’ve won. If Bernie had gotten half the media time as Hillary or Trump, Bernie would’ve won. If the democratic party didn’t funnel money and resources (designated for both campaigns) to Hillary, Bernie would’ve won. If the democratic party didn’t sabotage Bernie’s campaign, he would’ve won. I agree with Jill Stein on practically every issue. I voted for her (in a non-swing-state) in 2012. Yes, you were right to vote for Bernie in the primaries! It’s true that the corporate centrist democrats and the racist republicans put us in this horrible position.

If you wanted to have hope months ago that Jill Stein had a chance, that’s fine and even good, but not now. Polls are not 100% right, but they can be trusted to a degree, and Jill Stein will NOT win this election. There are the issues and there is strategy. Now is the time for strategy. If you’re serious about supporting the Green Party, make a vow for the next 4 years, and start on November 9th.

Hillary is a corporatist, but Trump is a new level of danger to our democracy. He talks like every dictator rising to power. So, don’t be surprised when he starts arresting journalists, because he said he would. He will resort to violence. He said he would. Dictators are idiots, who don’t know how to govern rationally. They are good at rallying crowds and rolling back rights, but not even Trump understands how bad he will be in office. But, those of us who know what dictators sound like, are fully aware of the danger. The famous last words of people who elect tyrants, “We never thought it could get that bad.”

So, if you are in anything remotely resembling a swing state, and you don’t vote against Trump by voting for Hillary, you are flirting with the worst case scenario. Progressives, we have to be humble. We lost this one. The question on the 8th is, how badly do we want to lose. Trump is a loss we may never come back from. You can disagree with Jill Stein on one thing. Make sure Trump doesn’t win. Join Jill Stein and the Green Party on the 9th and do the hard work of fighting for the next four years, or hopefully, for the rest of our lives, in an environment in which we are able to fight.

● Hillary Will Lose!

Hillary Clinton will lose in November, if the DNC continues to dismiss progressives. In light of the 20,000 emails released Friday, July 22nd, by WikiLeaks, it’s clear that the Democratic Party worked behind the scenes to give Hillary an unfair advantage by fabricating lies in an attempt to discredit and defeat Bernie Sanders. The Democratic Party was perfectly aware of all the polls showing that Bernie Sanders was their best chance at beating Trump, and still they worked to sabotage the Sanders campaign. They decided that corporate interests are more important than winning the presidency and reforming the party.

So, when she loses, don’t blame progressives, the very people she and the party have worked to undermine. Don’t blame Bernie, when he was the party’s best chance of winning. Blame the DNC for their poor judgement, deceitful actions, and for refusing to support real democratic policies. If you have to blame a segment of the population, blame the centrists she’s pandering towards, for not being swayed. It makes little sense to blame those who she and the party have continually dismissed. If she wanted Bernie supporters, she could’ve picked him as her running mate. If she wanted progressive votes, she could’ve at least picked Elizabeth Warren. But, she went the other way, despite all the polling and all the momentum of the movement.

It’s incredibly naive to think that Hillary will deviate from her warmongering, climate-devastating, anti-labor, pro-corporate-welfare agenda. It’s a fantasy to think that centrists will put any pressure on her. Therefore, it’s solely up to progressives, knowing she won’t budge if she thinks she has our vote. So, she doesn’t have our vote. The ball's in her court, but she seems to not want to serve.

Bernie Sanders didn’t go too long, he gave up too soon. He could have, and should have taken Jill Stein’s offer to continue the movement with the Green Party. This is a movement, not of a person, but of the public, driven by principled policy positions. As Sanders steps down, Stein steps up. Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party are splitting the vote on the right. With still months to go, this is not the time to ask the Green Party (the only real opposition party) to back down. Al Gore lost in 2000 because he refused to work with Ralph Nader and the Green Party. Gore pandered to the right, took on a conservative running mate, and refused to take on progressive policies that poll well with the public. We have to stop blaming people with principled positions. Nader was not a spoiler, he offered to work with Gore, and Gore refused. Democrats have to learn that opposing progressives is a losing strategy. And, they have to learn that before November, or they will lose.

Download audio and video of the full two hour show on-demand + the members-only post game show by becoming a member at http://tytnetwork.com/subscribe Your membership supports the day to day operations and is vital for our continued success and growth.

● The Corporation

This thought provoking, witty, stylish and sweepingly informative film, explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time. Part film and part movement, The Corporation is transforming audiences and dazzling critics with its insightful and compelling analysis. Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?" The Corporation includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore - plus true confessions, case studies and strategies for change. // Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott, Canada, 2003, 145' // Half of all proceeds from the rental of this video go directly to the artist, and half go to support the work of Cinema Politica. To find out more about our work, visit: http://cinemapolitica.org .

● ● ●

Another great documentary by Mark Achbar, is the film Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, based on the Edward Herman / Noam Chomsky book titled Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, which also explores the propaganda model of the corporate media.

☼ "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act" -George Orwell ☯

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

● NYC, You've Failed Us!

#‎nyPrimary

NYC, You've Failed Us!

New York City, you’ve disappointed your own state and the nation, if not the world. Now, the cities in New York state are more conservative and less informed than the rest of the state? New York City, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester failed Tuesday.

Hillary is the most hawkish candidate, even more than Trump or Cruz. Her record is clear. She is a warmongering corporate politician who is against progressive policies. You can’t both claim to be liberal and simultaneously support Hillary. Yes, she can be effective and get the job done for her donors, but not for the public.

Throughout her career she has been wrong. While Bernie marched with Martin Luther King Jr., she campaigned for Goldwater. She has campaigned for some of the worst policy decisions since Jim Crow. From mass incarceration, the Patriot Act, the Iraq War, to NAFTA, she has been wrong and behind. She only came out for gay marriage after it became embarrassing for her not to. She has been wrong or behind on the issues throughout her career. She’s not a leader.

All the polls show Bernie as being more electable nationally. So, even in terms of strategy, it’s a fail.

Sure, voting for Hillary is understandable when you have no other choice. But, this time we had another choice, and we failed.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

● Love Transcends Hate

●Love exceeds . . . ●Love surpasses . . . ●Love outshines . . . Love Conquers Hate ---◘ Rosario Dawson : Why She Supports Bernie Sanders ◘ http://youtu.be/4gpCUBvB_qs ◘ Love Transcends Hate ---◘
It’s too soon to give up.
If Sanders takes New York on the 19th, he will probably be our next president. And then, real reform will be possible.
Bernie Sanders has been right for decades.
Hillary has been a Corporatist for decades. Both of their records are clear.
From the crime bill to welfare reform, Hillary Clinton devastated black America.

“In her support for the 1994 crime bill, for example, she used racially coded rhetoric to cast black children as animals. ‘They are not just gangs of kids anymore,’ she said. ‘They are often the kinds of kids that are called super-predators. No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.’”1 The Nation http://thenation.com/article/hillary-clinton-does-not-deserve-black-peoples-votes

Draw The Line in 2016
Between Public & Private Representatives - - -
Draw the line between elected officials who represent private corporations, and our public representatives who actually represent the public. Bernie Sanders & Jill Stein are not afraid to stand up to big multinational corporations and hold them accountable, in favor of human rights. Both, Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein have demonstrated that they can't be bought, and will not be bought by corporate interests. Hillary & the Republicans are already corporate bought! That’s why it’s imperative that Democrats vote for Bernie Sanders in the Primaries. Let the Democrats in Washington know that there will be no vote for corporate interests in 2016. The Choice will be between Bernie Sanders of the Democrats or Jill Stein of the Green Party.

Draw The Line in 2016 ✄---uResist.org/vote/2016--- ✔ Make this Election about public rather than private interests, with democratic-socialism.

Monday, January 18, 2016

● Martin Luther King Day 2016

●Martin Luther King Day ●Martin Luther King Day

● Martin Luther King Day 2016
"Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam"

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love. -Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.

When he stood for peace, equality, workers rights, and against war and poverty, the 1% had had enough.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the civil rights movement in the USA. King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, spoke out against the Vietnam War, and his efforts led to the March on Washington (August 28, 1963), where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through non-violent means, including civil disobedience. Dr. King raised public consciousness and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. He was a chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism and protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. After he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1977, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination, was signed into law in 1983, and was first observed in 1986, but was not officially observed by all 50 states until the year 2000.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

● Draw The Line

Don’t throw your vote away. Many people say that when you vote for a 3rd party, you are throwing your vote away. But, it can also be argued, that when you vote for someone you don’t really believe in, you’re throwing your vote away. In other words, voting for the lesser evil, is still a vote against your own interests. When an election has a low turnout, people sometimes imply that voters are making a statement, by not voting. But, that’s exactly what big business wants. Polls show, that the more people vote, the more progressive the outcome. So, when people don’t vote, they’re unwittingly yielding to corporate interests. If you vote for the lesser evil, or decline your vote, you are actually being manipulated by the 1%. One way of looking at it, is that the only way to completely throw your vote away, is to not vote. Just think, if everyone who didn’t vote in 2000 (because they were fed up with the two party system), voted for Ralph Nader of the Green Party. What would've happened? Bush still would’ve won, but the Green Party would be a viable party today. We would have a three party system by now, and that would be a major accomplishment! That would be a far greater accomplishment, than electing the Wall Street Corporate Drone Captain/Deporter in Chief, Barack Obama.

Both corporate parties keep moving to the right. So, we have to draw the line somewhere. We can draw the line between elected officials who represent private corporations, and our public representatives who actually represent the public. Bernie Sanders & Jill Stein are not afraid to stand up to big multinational corporations and hold them accountable, in favor of human rights. Both, Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein have demonstrated that they can't be bought, and will not be bought by corporate interests. Hillary & the Republicans are already corporate bought! That’s why it’s imperative that Democrats vote for Bernie Sanders in the Primaries. Let the Democrats in Washington know, early on, that there will be no vote (for Hillary) for corporate interests in 2016. The Choice will be between Bernie Sanders of the Democrats or Jill Stein of the Green Party.

Draw The Line in 2016 ✄--- uResist.org/vote/2016 --- ✔ Make this Election about public rather than private interests, with democratic-socialism.